Turnover rate for Hong Kong preschool teachers hits 19.1% as 17 kindergartens close down amid shrinking birth numbers
- Preschool principals warn educators feel kindergarten jobs no longer secure, with many teachers switching to primary schools or leaving sector for good
- Source says authorities ‘do not see there are manpower issues in the kindergarten sector’, even as principals say graduates are reluctant to join industry
The turnover rate for Hong Kong’s preschool teachers has reached a record-high level of nearly 20 per cent, while official figures have shown 17 kindergartens closed down in the last academic year as the city grapples with a shrinking number of births.
Some preschool principals said on Thursday that teachers felt their jobs were no longer secure and had switched over to primary school positions or other fields, with institution heads noting the manpower crunch had made it difficult to hire replacements.
Education Bureau data released as part of the city’s new budget on Wednesday showed 19.1 per cent of teachers at local kindergartens left their jobs over a 12-month period ending last September, up from 17.6 per cent logged in the previous period.
Hong Kong had 12,644 preschool teachers in the 2022-23 academic year.
The recent figure, which determines the turnover rate, is the highest level since such data became publicly available in the 2006-07 academic year.
A government source on Wednesday refused to comment on the current turnover rate and stressed it was an indisputable fact that the city’s student population was falling.
“We do not see there are manpower issues in the kindergarten sector,” the insider said.